Federal Way schools get $22.5 million for smaller class sizes

June 10, 2016

This week, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) announced that Federal Way School District will receive a $22.5 million grant provided by the Legislature for class size reduction.

“As a substitute teacher, I’ve seen firsthand the need for classroom space and better teaching environments,” said Sen. Mark Miloscia, who represents Federal Way in the Legislature. “I was proud to support this bipartisan investment targeted to make a very real difference in the education of our students. I’m especially pleased that the state saw the need for these funds in Federal Way. This is great news for our community.”

After demonstrating a need for additional classroom space and teachers as well as a high percentage of free and reduced price meal eligible students, OSPI selected Federal Way as one of 21 districts across the state to receive class size reduction grants. These grants were provided by the passage of SB 6080 in the Legislature to provide the facilities necessary to meet the state’s kindergarten-through-third-grade class size objectives.

“This is part of a major investment in our schools by the Legislature over the past few years,” said Miloscia. “We have more work to do, but this is a big step toward providing every student a great education.”

The Legislature directed over $234 million to class size reduction grants as part of last year’s state budget. This is part of a $4.6 billion increase in education funding since 2013.